Last



Patented July 3, 1923.

UNITED `STATES orifice.

LEWIS F. SMALL, OF BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR TO C. C. BLAKE, IN-

CORPORATED, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

LAST.

' Application ed .March l29.r 1918. Serial No. 225,552.

To all 107mm t may concern.'

Be it known thatI, LEWIS F. SMALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Braintree, in the lcounty of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several ligures The present invention relates to lasts which are used in the manufacture of shoes to impart shape to the uppers thereof dur- ]5 ing the lasting operation.

The object of the present invention is to produce a last, having a crowned bottom, which will allow the muscles inside thev shoe to exert a forward tractive effort only.

2n To the accomplishment of this object, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the features of the invention relate to certain constructions and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and then set forth broadly and in detail in the` appended claims which possess advantages readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present invention will be readily understood from an 3o inspection of the accompanying drawings,

in which,

Figure l is a plan of a last;

F ig. 2 is a bottom plan, and

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation.

l The last embodying the features of the present invention is provided with an upper shaping surface l and a bottom 2. The surface l has a cone 3, containing the usual spindle bushing' 4 therein, and an instep 40 ridge 5. The bottom of the last is crowned throughout its length and comprises a heel seat 6, a shank 7 and a forepart 8. In order to obtain a balanced construction I construct the bottom of my last so that the median line 9 bisects the end curvatures of the-toe and heel and divides the heel seat 6 into equal portions (F ig. 2).

The upper shaping surface l, when cut by a: plane passing through the median line 9 bisects the end curvatures at the ends of the last. rIhe median line l0 onthe uppershapmg surface l intersects the center line of the cone 3 and coincides with the ridge 5 (Fig l).

The bottom of the last is constructed so that the projections of any series of lines drawn transversely across median vline 9 throughout the length of the last upon a vertical plane, when the bottom of the last is resting on a horizontal surface, are concentric (Fig. the shoe made on the last will move on the ground during the act of walking in a forward manner without any lateral rocking motion. Obviously with this shoe the entire ou i i With this construction tractive effort of the foot muscles is exerted in propelling the wearer forward.

What is claimed as new, is:

l. A last having an upper shaping surl' face and a bottom thereon constructed so that any series of lines formed in a series of parallel planes transverse the bottom of the last are concentric when projected upon a vertical plane with thelast supported on. a f y 

